Big(gest?) Night in UK History

A few nights ago was NBA Draft Night. A few nights ago, a certain someone contended it was the biggest night in the history of UK basketball. That man was head coach John Calipari.

As we all know, three lottery picks and two more late first-rounders went in the draft. UK players were seen shaking hands with the Commish. The nation saw Calipari, the shepherd of all that talent, the one who can guide prospects to the promised league, smiling as each of his players realized their dreams. Jay Bilas preached about each UK player’s “length,” which ultimately wasn’t that great because he said that about literally every single player in the draft. And once Daniel Orton was taken off the board, the graphic was instantly cued up showing that UK became the first program ever to see five players taken in the first round (and HOW, with all that talent….).

Calipari also created a “new guard” of people who seemingly appreciate the name on the back of the jersey more than the name on the front.

“I’m not saying that winning national titles is not important; it is,” Calipari said. “But if you told me we’d win a national title and no one gets drafted, or you go 0-for-20 against West Virginia and five guys get drafted, you tell me what you’d want.”

Uh, OK. Let’s see an eighth national title! Of course that’s what we want! In fact, Calipari’s scenario just happened this season. Duke won the national title, and saw none of its players shake the Commish’s hand. UK fell short of a championship and watched five of its players get drafted. I’m pretty sure Duke fans were much happier on championship night than UK fans were on draft night. (Actually, I know this for a fact. My dorm neighbor was a Duke fan. Championship night was unbearable for me.) And I’m pretty sure I know which scenario I would rather have. And while Cal didn’t explicitly state which he preferred, I have a feeling he doesn’t fall on the same side of the blue-and-white fence as I do.

Now, draft night was a big night for UK basketball — it showed that the Wildcats are back on top, at the very least from a talent viewpoint, and if that draft wasn’t a ringing endorsement of Calipari for any recruit paying attention nothing will be.

It was a historic moment for UK basketball — never before had the Wildcats seen one of their own taken as the #1 draft pick, and then on top of that came a top-5 pick and a lottery pick. Never before had the Wildcats, or anyone else for that matter, seen five players taken in the first round.

But it was not the biggest night in history for this storied program. I figured Calipari got caught up in the heat of the moment — it can happen to anyone, especially when the moment includes watching almost all of your first team as head coach make it to the biggest stage of them all — and would maybe come down a little bit. But, no, he pressed on, saying it depended on your frame of reference and maintaining that it’s “players first.”

Now, it might have been the greatest moment in each of these player’s history. I would say earning a first-round selection and all the opportunities that come with it would be a crowning achievement, a validation of all the hard work and preparation put in (even though some player’s hard work and preparation only got them 3 ppg and 3 rpg in college, but who’s counting, right?).

It might have even been the greatest moment in Calipari’s history. These were his guys from his team in his first season at UK. It had to be special for him to watch all those guys he worked so hard to get and keep don their suits and walk to the podium. Perhaps this night was, for him, even greater than the Final Fours he had been to (maybe they were vacated from his heart as well as from the record books).

When Cal talks about the biggest night in UK basketball history, I think it was mainly done from the two perspectives he knows best — from the player’s and his own. And he’s probably right there. But he didn’t consider it from a fan’s perspective. Bluebloods wanted their own party through Lexington after the NCAA Championship game, not watch someone else’s Draft Party because they landed a franchise player who used to be their franchise player.

I’m only 19, so I don’t have the greatest answer as to what exactly would have been the biggest night for Wildcat fans. I would start with the obvious: seven national titles, including two in a three-year stretch. I can’t really remember what those were like — my aunt and uncle were attending UK during that streak and said it was wild, but I’m still waiting for my first championship I can remember — but I imagine those were pretty great moments.

To fans, the greatest moment in UK basketball history will always be something that happens while these guys are in uniforms, not suits.  We won’t see any banners hanging from Rupp’s rafters next season to commemorate the Draft Cats achievement, no matter how proud it made Cal.